İçerik Haritası
Caitlin Clark notches triple-double as Fever blow out Sky in season opener: Takeaways
INDIANAPOLIS — The crowd’s roars grew progressively louder as the final names in the Indiana Fever’s starting lineup were announced Saturday afternoon. Two-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana’s longest-tenured player, received a booming ovation. Then Caitlin Clark followed, with fans showering the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year with a cheer eight months in the making, since the Fever’s last game of 2024.
A revamped Fever team began its most-anticipated season in franchise history minutes later against the Chicago Sky. With only five returning players, questions loomed about how a largely new roster would fit.
The Fever provided an emphatic first answer, defeating the Sky 93-58 in a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark recorded her third triple-double of her career, finishing the blowout win with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Including Clark, four Fever players scored in double figures. Aliyah Boston contributed a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. Indiana, which finished No. 11 in defensive rating last season, held its opponent to only 29.1 percent shooting from the field.
The victory marked a step forward for the Fever, who will look to make a significant leap defensively in coach Stephanie White’s first year back with the franchise. (White had been an assistant coach with Indiana from 2011 to 2014 and its head coach in 2015 and 2016.)
“At the end of the day, the best way to learn is just to get into live action and live games,” Clark said before the win.
The Sky will come away with plenty to learn, too. Playing a revamped style under first-year coach Tyler Marsh, Chicago attempted 27 3-pointers, up from the league-low 14.9 it attempted last season, but made just six. Its two frontcourt centerpieces, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese, spent less time on the low block and instead tried to create chances in space. Reese finished with a 12-point, 17-rebound double-double, leading the Sky in both categories. Two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins, whom Chicago acquired in an offseason trade with the Washington Mystics, had 11 points and four rebounds.
At the 4:38 mark of the third quarter, Clark was called for a flagrant foul while preventing a Reese shot attempt. Reese and Boston were assessed offsetting technical fouls, as both teams were sent back to their benches.
“Nothing malicious about it,” Clark said on the ESPN broadcast minutes later. “It was just a good take foul. Every basketball player knows that.”
Indiana and Chicago next meet June 7.
But before the teams play again, plenty will happen in their seasons. The Fever will host the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, while the Sky host the New York Liberty on Thursday.
Boston shines in first game under White
A year ago, it took Boston nine games to record her first double-double of the season as she adjusted to playing alongside Clark and at a faster pace. But Boston, Clark and Mitchell played like a cohesive trio Saturday.
Boston, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, was particularly impressive. Boston finished with her 19 points, on efficient 8-of-12 shooting, and 13 rebounds in just 27 minutes. Her five blocks also tied a career high, as Boston’s defense helped limit the production of Cardoso, who made only three of her nine shot attempts.
DeWanna Bonner makes WNBA scoring history
With 3:13 to play in the fourth quarter, DeWanna Bonner approached the free-throw line looking history in the face. Bonner needed to make both attempts to move into third place on the WNBA’s career scoring list. She did, passing Tina Thompson to bring her career total to 7,489. Bonner checked out of the game after hitting the pair, shared a warm embrace with White and found a seat on the bench. She finished with 7 points and three rebounds.
Bonner, a six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, is 207 points behind Tina Charles for second. Charles is beginning her 14th WNBA season, having returned to the Connecticut Sun this winter. Both trail Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leader at 10,646, by nearly 3,000 points.
Reese shows expanded skill set
When Marsh took over as the Sky’s coach, he emphasized that his team’s young star, Reese, was more than a prolific rebounder. He wants to help Reese, who had an impressive rookie campaign with a WNBA-record 26 double-doubles, display her full skill set in Year 2. Marsh’s trust in Reese’s expanded role was on display Saturday. Instead of spending most of the game in the paint, Reese brought the ball up the court and initiated the offense, while also operating in the high post and still working a bit in the paint.
Reese finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds in 25 minutes, yet growing pains were also evident as she and the Sky tried to implement their new offense. Reese committed five turnovers, the most notable of which came when Bonner picked her pocket near midcourt and went the other way for a breakaway layup that gave Indiana a 28-23 lead late in the first quarter. The Sky committed 17 turnovers overall.
Quiet game for others on Sky
Courtney Vandersloot was brought in to calm the Sky’s offense and keep it humming, but she struggled mightily in her first game back with the franchise. The veteran point guard, who won a championship with the Sky in 2021, coughed up two turnovers and finished with five assists and just 4 points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field.
Cardoso had a quiet game, as well. The idea behind having Reese play more on the perimeter was to also open things up for Cardoso in the paint. But that approach wasn’t fruitful for Cardoso, who was essentially a nonfactor in Saturday’s lopsided loss. Cardoso totaled 7 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
The New York Times Quote …
